day out Archives | Page 6 of 6 | Journeys with Jessica

Day Out: Cheltenham Spa

Hi everyone,

Last week me and my best friend had an afternoon off work and were at a loss as to what to do so we headed to the nearby town of Cheltenham Spa for a lovely afternoon of shopping and lunching! Cheltenham is around an hour’s drive from Oxford and London and is a pretty Cotswolds town full of high street and designer shops, bars, cafes and restaurants so there really is something on offer for everyone! Upon arrival we headed to cafe for some lunch before hitting the shops. HMV, New Look, River Island and more are at the top of the high street and you can then work your way down towards the likes of Topshop, Boots, Monsoon and Accessorize before ending up at the large flagship Primark store.

Regents Arcade and are two of the indoor shopping centres which arent to be missed as they are home to a number of independent boutique shops as well as large well known chains such as Debenhams and TK Maxx. Don’t forget to be inside Regents Arcade on the hour to watch the famous bubble clock chime! This brought back many childhood memories for me and my friend as we’ve been going there since we were little!

Down on The Promenade is where you’ll find the designer and higher end stores such as Jack Wills, FCUK and LK Bennett. The Prom is situated on a long street leading back up to the town centre and is really beautiful especially in the summer sunshine! I’d recommend heading to Cheltenham Spa for an alternative day out to the busier cities of Oxford and London- you’ll thoroughly enjoy being away from the hustle and bustle but there will be plenty of things to keep you and the whole family entertained!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post – I’ve got a special birthday announcement coming soon as my blog turns one in a couple of weeks time!

Love Jess x

May 15, 2015/by jessicalouise1601

All Posts, UK

Blenheim Palace: A brilliant family day out!

Hi everyone,

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the lovely sunshine we have been having lately! Last Saturday I went on a family day out to the beautiful Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire (the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill!) and had such a fantastic time. We had bought annual passes for my mum for her Mothers Day present so we took the opportunity to use them and spent the whole day at the palace and gardens.

The arrival to the Palace is truly spectacular, it’s such a beautiful building and looks so impressive from the outside. The interior is equally as stunning and, as this was my first time going in to the Palace since a primary school trip, I couldn’t wait to start exploring properly! We were taken into the Palace bedrooms where Winston Churchill resided and learnt a lot about the history of the rooms. We then joined The Untold Story which outlined the heritage of the Churchill family and took us back in time to the 1700s. The tour was a walk round event but each room had interactive features including touch screen monitors, audio speakers and screen projectors. Lasting for around 30 minutes, the tour was really informative and I’d recommend attending to ensure you make the most out of your visit to the Palace.

After a short stop for lunch at the on site Cafe we then headed to the Pleasure Gardens to enjoy the afternoon sun. The Pleasure Gardens are a 5-10 minute walk from the Palace or a short train ride away if you prefer to use this method of transport- bear in mind that it will set you back 50p per adult! The Gardens is home to the exotic butterfly house, model village, family maze and children’s play area. You could bring a picnic and easily spend a couple of hours here exploring, and there is a nice restaurant/cafe on site. The maze was brilliant, and yes I did get lost as it was much more difficult than I thought!

We bought Annual Passes for Blenheim so we can come back as many times as we want and therefore we didn’t experience all that there is on offer. For our next visit we will be taking the dog and going on a long walk around the grounds, so I’ll be sure to write another blog post on this! Blenheim really is a beautiful place and is fun for all the family. As a tip I would definitely recommend getting an Annual Pass as it’s the same price as a 1 day ticket! Don’t forget to head over to the kiosk next door to the Palace Cafe to get your pass. For an extra £5 you can also upgrade to a prestigious card which will get you 15% off all purchases in the cafe and gift shop – definitely worth it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Blenheim write up- have you ever been/ever wanted to go? Make sure you do – you won’t regret it! If you have any questions at all please just ask 🙂

Love Jess x

April 17, 2015/3 Comments/by jessicalouise1601

All Posts, UK

The day I became a tourist in my home city: Oxford!

Hi everyone,

So last weekend I was in my beautiful home city of Oxford doing a bit of Saturday shopping and had a few spare hours to kill whilst waiting for a friend. I wondered whether I should wander aimlessly round the shops trying on dresses that I couldn’t afford, or whether I should do something more useful and get some cool photos for a brand new blog post and so, naturally, I chose the latter option! Firstly I headed in search of the famous Radcliffe Camera which is one of the must-see sights if you are visiting Oxford. After a short stroll off the high street and past Trinity College I came to the Bodleian Library and was in awe of the incredible architecture of this beautiful building.

The Bodleian Library was home to The Hogwarts Infirmary in the blockbuster Harry Potter film series, and there were Harry Potter tours being carried out while I was there that I was trying to ear wig on! The surroundings really are stunning, so it’s hard not to see why it was chosen as a location for one of the country’s biggest films.

Next I found myself on Magdalen Street walking past the famous five star Randolph Hotel; what I would give to spend a night of luxury there! Directly opposite The Randolph is the beautiful Ashmolean Museum which is one of my favourite attractions in Oxford. Having been on plenty of school trips here when I was younger I know they it’s home to some of the best historical artefacts in the world . Entry is free so make the most of it and while away a few hours in this incredible building when your visiting.

Finally I strolled back up towards the high street and past the Carfax Tower before catching up with my friend and going for dinner on the way home. We headed to Jacobs Inn, Wolvercote which I’d heard great things about and couldn’t wait to try for myself! I had the chicken pie and my friend opted for a burger – the food was great and the atmosphere was lovely, a spacious nut warm and welcoming pub right on the river Thames. We couldn’t have picked a better spot to enjoy some early evening dinner! You can read my review on Jacobs Inn here: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186361-d4606454-r253493733-Jacobs_Inn-Oxford_Oxfordshire_England.html#REVIEWS

I had a wonderful day being a tourist in my home city and can honestly say it’s been one of the most refreshing things I’ve done in a long time. It just goes to show that sometimes you don’t need to travel far to have a great day out.. things can be on your doorstep and, of course, life is what you make it! So next time your on your daily commute or are visiting somewhere you’ve been 100 times before just stop and spend a few minutes pretending that this is your first visit and see where your travel instinct takes you!

Love Jess x

February 11, 2015/by jessicalouise1601

UK

London Day Trip: From Kensington to Westminster to Tower Bridge!

London blog write up: The day we walked from Westminster to Tower Bridge!

Happy Friday everyone! Today’s post is all about London – my favourite city in the world! It was my birthday last week so me and my best friend caught the train to Paddington station to enjoy a fun filled day out in our wonderful capital city. First of all we headed to South Kensington to check out the Royal Albert Hall & Kensington Gardens as we both hadn’t been to that area of London since we went on a school trip at the tender age of 14! The Royal Albert Hall is such a unique and iconic London landmark, and I’d forgotten how beautiful it was. Opposite was the famous statue of King Albert & Queen Victoria together which presented yet another photo opportunity, greatly complimenting the beautiful Royal Hall.

Next we took a wander past The Natural History Musuem, but decided against going in at that time as the queue reached almost as far as South Kensington tube station! We headed into the museum on our way back home though, so that will feature in this post a little later on.

After catching the tube from South Kensington to Westminster we strolled round the area taking in all the well known sights, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and The Houses of Parliament.

Next stop was the Embankment, one of my favourite parts of London, and we marvelled at The London Eye whilst stopping for a quick bite to eat. After passing the Sealife Aquarium, London Dungeons and amusements arcade we headed for a long stroll down The Queens Walk towards Jubilee Gardens and the famous Golden Jubilee bridges.

Our intention was to end up at Tower Bridge via the underground District Line, but we ended up walking there rather than getting the tube as it was such a lovely day with bright sunshine! Our walk was amazing, and we were able to take in so many famous landmarks on our way including:

St Paul’s cathedral

The Gherkin

The Shard

The OXO tower

Shakespeare’s globe theatre

The Millennium & London bridges

HMS Belfast

All Hallows church

I loved the freedom of exploring the city on foot, rather than by using the underground, and although it took over an hour to reach our final destination, it was totally worth it!

Tower Bridge is my favourite place on earth, I absolutely love it and for me nothing else compares; it will always hold a special place in my heart for very personal reasons. We took many photos (including selfies!) and made friends with lots of lovely tourists who were seriously impressed with my selfy stick- a must have for any travel blogger! After walking across the monumental bridge and back down past the Tower of London we decided to head over to Tower Hill tube station and make our way back to South Kensington.

Once there we ventured into The Natural History Museum (I told you it would return!) and explored the premises – I’d not been to the museum since I was ten years old so it was amazing to see how much it had changed, and how little I remembered! It was exciting to re-discover everything though, from the space and geographical areas to the fossils and historical departments which I found the most fascinating.

After an incredibly tiring but amazing day we headed back to Paddington and onwards home to Oxford station. I had an amazing time celebrating my birthday in my favourite city, but was so ready for my bed that night! I hope you’ve enjoyed my write up of London, if you have any questions please get in touch.. what parts of the capital have you been to and which are your favourites?

Speak soon!

Love Jess x

January 23, 2015/3 Comments/by jessicalouise1601

UK

Clothes show live: Birmingham NEC Arena

Hey everyone,

On Friday 5th December I attended the annual Clothes Show Live at Birmingham’s NEC Arena for the first time. I’ve wanted to go to the clothes show for as long as I can remember, so when my friend sent me a link to some cut price tickets on Groupon I just couldn’t say no!

We had tickets to the event for the afternoon slot between 1pm and 6pm which worked perfectly for us as it gave us time to travel up in the morning . Parking at the NEC is great; it costs £10 for the day and there are complimentary shuttle buses to and from the arena.

On arrival we headed straight to the main event and checked out all the boutique stores in the hair and beauty section. There were so many stalls offering big brand products including Rimmel, Barry M and Carmex at discounted prices with lots of demo’s being carried out for free if you fancied a mini makeover. I bought lots of the products that were tried out on me but that was purely because I liked them and not because I felt pressured into buying.

Next up we headed to the clothes stalls where we found loads of bargains including Lipsy dresses for £10 and Topshop heels for the same price! I didn’t realise how discounted the items were and I ended up spending more than I thought I would but I did get my money’s worth! There were also a host of boutique stalls from celebrity owners such as Millie Mckintosh, Amy Childs and the Kardashian sisters.

Throughout the arena there were celebs from The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea posing for photos and autographs as well as various calendar signings. Peter Andre was there and I had the pleasure of meeting the cutie pie that is Joey Essex and I have to say he was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met! He’s so funny and down to earth and was really lovely, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him and my little sister loved her signed calendar.. Thanks Joey!

Our tickets allowed entry to the Alcatel Catwalk Show which featured a professional show with models and dancers along with special guests and was presented by famous fashion designer Henry Holland. Girl band Neon Jungle opened the show and Henry was joined on stage by Joey Essex before the catwalk began . There was nine different scene changes with dances to well known soundtracks and the models showcased the latest fashion products from big name designers.

We had a brilliant day at Clothes Show Live and I can’t wait to return next year, I’m booking my tickets as soon as possible!

My next post is a local hotel review so that will be coming up shortly, and I still have my interview with the lovely Char from Taylor Hearts Travel to publish so it’s going to be a busy few days for me! Watch this space!

Love Jess x

December 7, 2014/by jessicalouise1601

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